The invention pertains to a stack of interfolded tissue-sheets packed in a container, said container having a generally planar bottom wall and a top wall and side walls connecting the bottom wall with the top wall and an opening provided in at least one wall for the removal of said tissue-sheets from the container, said stack of interfolded tissue-sheets being placed in said container with at least the edges of a lowermost tissue-sheet placed on the bottom wall and an uppermost tissue-sheet placed near or in contact with the top wall and adjacent to the opening in the top wall.
Soft tissue sheets such as facial tissue sheets are commonly offered as a stack of tissue sheets packed in a dispensing box. The dispensing box has an opening through which the user pulls the tissue sheets. In order to facilitate the removal of the tissue sheets from the dispensing box, the tissue sheets are interfolded, which means that the tissue sheets are folded into one-another, so that they form a chain of tissue sheets being interconnected by folded portions. In this manner, when removing the top tissue sheet from the stack of tissue sheets and pulling the tissue sheet completely through the dispensing opening in the dispensing box, the pulled-out tissue sheet will automatically bring a portion of the next tissue sheet in the stack out through the opening thereby making it readily available for gripping and removing from the dispensing box. The praxis of interfolding tissue sheets in this manner is a convenient way of ascertaining that all of the tissue sheets can be easily removed from the container. There are many types of interfolding, e.g. Z-folding, but neither the type of interfolding, nor the type of tissue is important to the invention.
A dispenser of this type is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,357 (YOH), which discloses a box with a dispensing opening having a curvilinear or xe2x80x9cSxe2x80x9d-shape. The opening facilitates the dispensing of interfolded tissues from a box by fixing the top sheet in a position extending out through the opening, where it is readily accessible to a user.
However, a problem arises when it is desired to dispense a flat tissue sheet from the stack of tissue sheets. After opening the dispensing box, which basically means exposing the opening in the box, the user must try and get a grip on the first tissue sheet in order to remove it. In ordinary boxes of this type, the uppermost tissue is usually wrinkled when it is presented to the user through the opening in the box. The reason for this is that the width of the tissue is broader than the opening in the box, in order to fix the tissue in a position ready to use. To dispense a flat tissue sheet it is therefore necessary to have a wider opening in the box. Although a wider opening in the box solves the problem with tissues being wrinkled as they are pulled out of the box, it creates a further problem with tissues falling back into the box where they are inaccessible for the user.
Hence, there exists a great need of improving the dispensing of flat tissue sheets from a stack of tissue sheets. The sheets should both be presented to a user, without falling back into the box, and be possible to withdraw without causing the sheet to wrinkle. Hence, the box requires a dispensing means that enables a tissue to be gripped and held securely in a presentation position, while allowing it to be pulled freely from the box by the user.
The present invention offers a simple and expedient means of solving the problem of dispensing a flat tissue sheet from a stack of interfolded tissue sheets which are packed in a container having a dispensing opening. In a preferred embodiment, the opening is wider than the width of said tissue sheets. The invention will, however, also be applicable for openings of equal or narrower width than the width of the tissue sheets.
In accordance with the invention the dispensing opening is provided with means for presenting a tissue blocked in a fixed position, with a flat configuration. This allows the user to pull the presented tissue out flat, whereby potential wrinkling is smoothened out by the presenting means. The presented tissue may be a single sheet, or may itself have additional folding.
The means for presenting the tissue is preferably in the form of a number of elongated projections or fingers extending from opposite sides of the dispensing opening of the box. The dispensing opening is preferably, but not necessarily, located in the top wall of the box. In order to fix a tissue in position the fingers are overlapping by extending between each other in the plane of the top wall. When the box is to be opened the fingers are initially arranged in substantially the same plane, until the first tissue has been extracted through the dispensing opening. The fingers may be attached to the underside of the top wall of the box, on opposite sides of the opening. It is also possible to attach the means including said fingers on the upper side of the top wall of the box, or to integrate it into the top wall itself, e.g. by making the fingers part of the top wall. When the first tissue is being pulled out through the opening, the fingers will be pulled upwards by the tissue on either side thereof. The pulled-out tissue will automatically bring a portion of the next tissue out through the opening, where it will pass between the fingers. As the first tissue is removed, the subsequent tissue will be held in position and prevented from falling back into the box by the gripping action of the opposing fingers. The fingers must be sufficiently flexible to allow a tissue to be pulled out, while at the same time being sufficiently stiff to retain the tissue and prevent it from falling back. Accordingly, the thickness and stiffness of a plastic film, or other suitable material, used for the fingers must be selected to match the stiffness and material properties of the tissue.
It is possible to produce opposing sets of fingers from a continuous sheet of material by using an interlocking profile for the projections or fingers extending from opposite sides of the edge of an opening in said sheet. This is achieved by allowing each projection to extend across said top wall, and in the plane thereof, into a recess adjoining at least one opposing projection. If the finger profile is substantially V- or U-shaped, a shaped zig-zag cut can be made along the longitudinal axis of a prospective opening in the continuous sheet. Fingers of this type can be arranged staggered, having fingers arranged side-by-side and overlapping by extending across the dispensing opening of the box, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the opening. Alternatively the fingers can be angled relative to the longitudinal axis of the opening. The shape of the projections or fingers will be described in more detail below.
In the following text the term xe2x80x9coverlapxe2x80x9d, in the context of pairs of interacting projections, is used to denote that the tips of a pair of adjacent projections, which are not necessarily in contact, extend past each other, as seen in a plan view. This is the case when the fingers are in their initial positions, before the first tissue has been dispensed. Once a tissue has been withdrawn, the opposing fingers are placed on opposite sides of the subsequent tissue to present it to the user. The fingers are then bent or flexed away from the top wall, to assume a dispensing position in the form of a mainly curved shape. An opposing pair of fingers, or the tips thereof, on either side of a tissue will be in point or line contact with said tissue, thus creating sufficient friction to prevent the tissue from falling back into the box.
The shape of the fingers is important in order to retain a gripping position. Particularly, the tips of a pair of opposing fingers should be relatively large or xe2x80x9cfatxe2x80x9d to provide said point or line contact with a tissue.
According to a first embodiment, at least one pair of opposing projections is provided with at least one outer section with a surface area that is larger than the surface area of a corresponding length of an inner section. Said first and second sections may or may not partially overlap. In one particular version of this embodiment, the area of the outer section extending past a central longitudinal axis of the opening is larger than the surface area of the inner section from said axis to a base of the projection.
According to a second embodiment, each projection of at least one pair of opposing and co-operating projections has at least one inner section having a smaller width than an adjacent outer section. The widths can be measured at any point on the main axis of said projection. Also, said width of the respective inner and outer sections is the cross-sectional width in the perpendicular direction of either the main axis of said projection or the main, longitudinal axis of said opening.
According to a third embodiment, the radius of a projection at the point of contact with an opposing projection, in the dispensing position, is greater than half the width of the projection at its narrowest section.
According to a fourth embodiment, the opening in the top wall comprises a shaped slot provided with said projections. In addition, said slot can have at least one cut-out section for allowing access to said uppermost tissue-sheet. Said cut-out section may be removed during the manufacture of the box, or during opening of the box to allow access to the tissues.
According to a fifth embodiment, the main, longitudinal axis of the opening containing said slot extends across the top wall along or parallel to a longitudinal axis of the top wall. The opening may thus be positioned along the centreline of the box, or on either side thereof.
According to a sixth embodiment, the main axis of the opening containing said slot extends across the top wall at an angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the top wall. The angle can be given any value on either side of said longitudinal axis up to and including an angle corresponding to the angle of a diagonal line between opposing corners of the top wall.
According to a seventh embodiment, the main axis of the opening containing said slot extends across the top wall in a generally S-shaped curve extending in the general direction of a line connecting the ends of the opening.
The shape of the edges of the opening can follow the shape or curvature of the main axis of the opening, but can also follow a curved or broken line in the general direction of said axis. In general, the width of the opening is greater or greatest near the middle of the top wall, while its narrowest section is at or near the end sections of the top wall. The end sections of the opening may end in a straight line at the respective edges of the top wall. However they may also end with a rounded section, either near the edges of the top wall or extending a small distance down the respective end walls of the box.
According to a further embodiment, said slot is an insert attached to the top wall, which insert covers the opening. The insert may be made from a plastic material, such as polypropylene, in order to give both sufficient flexibility and stiffness. The flexibility and stiffness may also be varied by using plastic materials of different thickness.
The opening can be used to control the flexibility and stiffness of the fingers arranging the edge of the opening at a predetermined distance from said fingers. A wide opening positioned away from the base of the fingers will give high flexibility and low stiffness. On the other hand, an opening having an edge overlapping the recesses of opposing fingers will give low flexibility and high stiffness. In this way the fingers may be adapted for tissues of different materials and materials of different thickness.
According to a further embodiment, said slot is arranged in the top wall, which then makes up the opening. In this case the box itself is made from a plastic material, having projections or fingers cut or perforated in the top wall. The opening, which would normally control the movement of the fingers, can be embossed directly on the top wall. It is also possible to provide each individual finger with a specific embossing or pattern, in order to give each finger a predetermined flexibility. The shape of the slot containing the projections or fingers or the positioning and shape of the embossed opening can be the same as described in connections with the embodiments above.
In a further embodiment, any two consecutive pairs of opposing fingers should co-operate independently. Hence, a cut line between adjacent fingers of two pairs of opposing fingers should only have one inflection point. In the vicinity of the inflection point, the cut line should be straight or have a comparatively large curvature. In this way it is ensured that each pair of opposing fingers can move and flex together without interference from adjacent pairs of fingers.